Deals & Corporate Governance
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December 16, 2024
Becton Dickinson To Pay SEC $175M Over Pump Claims
Becton Dickinson & Co. has agreed to pay $175 million to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations that the medical device manufacturer misled investors about the risks of selling its Alaris infusion pump and overstated its income, the agency announced Monday.
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December 13, 2024
Pharma Co. Brass Face Investor Suit Over Drug Trial Probe
Officers and directors of cancer treatment developer MacroGenics Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative action alleging they breached their fiduciary duties after the company announced three study participant deaths were being probed for a potential connection to the company's therapies.
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December 13, 2024
What's Left In $400M Skinny Label Row? A Lot, Court Says
A number of key issues remain live in the $400 million fight between Teva Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline over whether the generic-drug maker induced healthcare providers to infringe the brand-name company's heart drug patent, including the availability of a new trial, a Delaware federal judge has said.
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December 13, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Davis Polk, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Google and TPG Rise Climate partner with Intersect Power, Gen Digital Inc. acquires MoneyLion Inc., Patient Square Capital acquires Patterson Companies Inc., and the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins sell minority ownership shares to private equity firms.
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December 12, 2024
Medicare Could Lose Billions From 'Patent Abuse,' Group Says
The $6 billion a year Medicare is supposed to save by negotiating drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act is close to the billions of dollars the government could lose due to "patent abuse" by drugmakers, according to a new report by a consumer interest group.
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December 11, 2024
AADI Enlists NY Court To Enforce Cancer Drug Award
California-based AADI Bioscience Inc. is asking a New York federal court to enforce an arbitral award rejecting a more than $15 million claim asserted by a Hong Kong biopharmaceutical company following a dispute over a deal to market a new cancer drug in China.
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December 11, 2024
Kirkland-Led Patient Square Pays $4.1B For Animal Health Co.
Healthcare-focused private equity firm Patient Square Capital on Wednesday unveiled plans to acquire and take private dental and animal health distributor Patterson Companies Inc. in a $4.1 billion deal built by several law firms.
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December 10, 2024
Bristol-Myers Said To Renege On $450M Milestone Promise
Former security holders of a biotechnology company Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired in 2016 hauled the pharmaceutical giant into Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, accusing it of using "patent prosecution sleight of hand" to avoid paying up to $450 million in promised milestone payments related to an autoimmune disorder treatment.
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December 10, 2024
Judge Won't Cull EpiPen Antitrust Action Against Mylan
Mylan Pharmaceuticals didn't get the early exit it sought from litigation accusing it of working with Pfizer to inflate the price of the latter's popular auto-injecting emergency allergy medication EpiPen, as a Kansas federal judge has ruled the case must move on to discovery.
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December 10, 2024
Mandarin-Speaking Attys In Demand Amid China Biotech Push
Amid a shift in licensing deals between Chinese and U.S. biotech companies, Mandarin-speaking attorneys with deep experience in the healthcare space are garnering new attention.
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December 09, 2024
3rd Circ. Affirms NLRB's COVID-19 Bonus Pay Order
The Third Circuit upheld on Monday a National Labor Relations Board decision finding a New Jersey nursing home illegally cut or stopped COVID-19 bonuses for unionized workers, supporting the board's assertion that the bonuses were hazard pay that the company was required to negotiate with the union.
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December 09, 2024
NC Attorney General Cans Counterclaims In HCA Hospital Suit
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has immunity from counterclaims brought by HCA Healthcare in an enforcement suit centered on the for-profit health network's actions since purchasing an Asheville hospital five years ago, a state Business Court judge has ruled.
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December 06, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Gibson Dunn
In this week's Taxation With Representation, BlackRock buys HPS Investment Partners, TreeHouse Foods Inc. buys Harris Tea, Aya Healthcare acquires Cross Country Healthcare, and Bruin Capital launches a soccer representation business.
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December 05, 2024
Providers' $2.8B BCBS Antitrust Deal Gets Judge's Initial OK
An Alabama federal judge has given his initial approval for a $2.8 billion settlement inked between Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and a proposed class of medical providers in a more than 12-year-old antitrust case targeting association rules.
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December 06, 2024
FINRA Fines Firm $900K Over SPAC Underwriting Fee Issues
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined New York-based LifeSci Capital LLC nearly $1 million over claims that it received and failed to disclose unfair and unreasonable fees for an initial public offering it underwrote.
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December 04, 2024
Withers IP Partners Hop To Sullivan & Worcester
Sullivan & Worcester LLP has said the Boston firm picked up a team of five intellectual property lawyers, including two partners, from Withers who have expertise in filing patents and working on deals for biotech startups.
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December 04, 2024
Aya Healthcare Buys Fla. Peer Cross Country In $615M Deal
Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare, steered by Procopio, will acquire Davis Polk & Wardwell-guided Cross Country Healthcare in an $18.61-per-share cash transaction worth roughly $615 million that will take the company private, according to a Wednesday statement.
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December 04, 2024
Fed. Circ. Judge Condemns 'Nonsense' Law In Antibody Fight
U.S. Circuit Judge Todd Hughes called the Federal Circuit's case law on interpreting preambles in patent claims "nonsense" on Wednesday, expressing frustration as a panel tried to work through whether Xencor Inc.'s antibody patent application was too broad.
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December 03, 2024
US Claims Court Backs HHS Agency's $20.5M IT Deal Choice
A federal claims court judge has denied a protest of a $20.5 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information technology deal, saying an HHS agency reasonably concluded that it had only "some confidence" in a government contractor protester.
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December 03, 2024
SEC Says Biopharma's Cooperation Helped It Avoid Penalty
A Houston biopharmaceutical company accused of misleading investors about the regulatory status of two cancer drugs agreed to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's action against it on Tuesday without paying a dime, in recognition of what the SEC said was the company's self-reporting and cooperation with investigators.
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December 03, 2024
9th Circ. Ponders AIDS Generic Drug Reimbursement
A Ninth Circuit panel heard arguments Tuesday on a Seattle pharmacy's dispute with a benefits manager over reimbursements for the generic version of the HIV/AIDS drug Truvada, with one judge asking if the pharmacy was stuck with a lopsided deal, but also questioning if the contract obligated the payments.
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December 03, 2024
Chancery Orders Revenue Trust For Healthcare Co. 'Poaching'
A home health company formed through secret poaching by an allegedly disloyal former CEO, two officers and two private equities has been ordered to earmark much of its future revenue to a trust for the corporate victims, in a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling that described the subterfuge as "stunning."
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December 03, 2024
$1B Sandoz Placeholder Bid Needs More Support, Judge Says
A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday said he cannot force Novartis spinoff Sandoz Inc. to set aside a $1 billion litigation placeholder in a generic drug pricing lawsuit without hearing whether the state attorney general can enforce possible orders in other states where the pharmaceutical company keeps assets.
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December 03, 2024
Vidal Aimed To Put USPTO Rulemaking In The Spotlight
Kathi Vidal's tenure as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been marked by dedication to making the agency's decisions and processes more transparent, attorneys said ahead of her mid-December departure.
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December 03, 2024
PE-Backed Anesthesia Giant Can't Duck Antitrust Claims
A New York federal judge refused to nix a Syracuse hospital's antitrust damages claims against North America's largest anesthesia provider, finding the alleged multimillion-dollar costs incurred from understaffing and overpayment can be traced to noncompete agreements locking in anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists.
Expert Analysis
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4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point
The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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No End In Sight For Pandemic Relief Fraud Enforcement
Congress' recent decision to extend the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud related to pandemic relief means the era of enforcement actions brought under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act has only just begun, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Hot OSHA Summer: Regulatory Activity In Full Swing
Recent actions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — including changes to its injury and illness reporting rule, its proposal to allow nonemployee union reps to accompany OSHA inspectors, and a hazard alert on extreme heat — show that the agency's regulatory and enforcement regime remains vigorous, says Heather MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.
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Nursing Homes Must Prepare For Ownership Scrutiny
Due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' designation of nursing home ownership changes as a high risk category, and increased transparency and notice obligations for changes in skilled nursing facility ownership set to take effect in Pennsylvania in October, owners should anticipate a heightened level of review and delays, say Mark Mattioli and Paula Sanders at Post & Schell.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Trends Emerge In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions
In its 2022-2023 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued nine merits decisions in criminal cases covering a wide range of issues, and while each decision is independently important, when viewed together, key trends and takeaways appear that will affect defendants moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.
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Negotiating AI-Life Sciences Partnerships To Minimize IP Risk
When life sciences companies and AI companies form partnerships to foster innovation, the parties should align interests as well as mitigate intellectual property risks by strategically identifying and addressing the unique AI-related legal issues, such as training data, AI model and output, say attorneys at Finnegan.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.